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Washington's Green has been money from 3-point land against the Pac-12

Ryan S. Clark, The News Tribune
Published 3:22 p.m. PT Feb. 5, 2018

Huskies forward Dominic Green (22) follows through on the shot that beat Arizona on Saturday in Seattle. Green is shooting 59 percent on 3-pointers during Pac-12 play this season.(Photo: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports)

For a while, junior forward Dominic Green was lost in Washington’s resurgence.

Green earned minutes early in the season as first-year basketball coach Mike Hopkins was getting a feel for his roster. By December, it appeared Green might drop out of the rotation. He went from averaging 22 minutes in UW’s first seven games to playing less than 11 minutes while being benched entirely for two contests over a six-game period by late December.

Then the Huskies began conference play.

Green has played more than 11 minutes in all but two of the Huskies’ conference games. He’s become a dead-eye 3-point shooter who uses his slender 6-foot-6 and 190-pound frame to be the linchpin of Hopkins’ 2-3 zone when called upon.

“I think it just helps to bring momentum to the game. That’s what I try to do when I come in,” Green said. “Somebody told me once, ‘You only get one chance to make one,’ so, I just go by that every time I come in.

“Sometimes, when I see that we’re in a scoring drought, I come off the bench and try to have a spark and try to help out the team.”

Green was a big help late Saturday, when he made the biggest shot by a Husky basketball player in years. Green picked up a loose ball and knocked down a 3-pointer to give Washington (17-6, 7-3 Pac-12) a 78-75 win over No. 13 Arizona.

Green was 4-for-5 from deep against the Wildcats.

Washington wasn't ranked in the Associated Press poll released Monday, but the Huskies were second among the teams "also receiving votes." Washington is in third place in the Pac-12, trailing second-place USC by just a half-game.

Green also made a major contribution to UW's first big win of the Pac-12 season, when the Huskies beat USC 88-81 on Dec. 29. Green went 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3 for 16 points in 23 minutes.

Green is shooting a blistering 59 percent from 3-point range in Pac-12 play.

“You can see it in our opponents' faces,” junior guard Matisse Thybulle said. “When he starts (making) 3’s, they just get deflated. Like, ‘What are we supposed to do?’ It just seems like you can’t stop it.”

Green’s offense is welcomed given there have been times when the Huskies have struggled to score.

His defensive contributions, as Hopkins and Thybulle each pointed out, are also valuable.

Hopkins, a defensive-minded former Syracuse assistant, said Green was the team’s best defensive forward when the year began.

“He kind of got away from that,” Hopkins said. “But he’s active, he works hard, he’s got great length. Part of that is not just defending the 3-pointer but its also rebounding. It’s been a focus for us.

Green gets around 2.2 rebounds per game but does more than just occupy the paint when called upon.

Part of UW’s success this season has come from how it can slow an opposing offense in the second half.

A year ago, teams shot 41.9 percent in the second half against the Huskies. It might not sound high but it was in the lower fifth of college basketball.

Washington is limiting teams to 37.5 percent in the second half and that’s good enough for 148th out of 351 Division I programs.

In the last three games alone, opponents are shooting 34 percent against the Huskies.

Green might not have Thybulle’s defensive statistics, but he plays an important role within the zone.

“If you look at every game and every position that he’s in, he’s either moving the most or talking the most,” said Thybulle, who is third nationally with an average of 3.0 steals per game. “Those are among the most valuable traits of anyone on defense. I know he helps me a lot when I’m on top of the zone just because I cannot see what is going on behind me.

“But I got him telling me everything that’s going on.”

Green, who is from Renton, initially signed with Arizona State out of high school. A few months after he signed, Green was released from his letter of intent after the Sun Devils fired then-coach Herb Sendek.

The former three-star prospect chose to stay home and play for the Huskies.

In that time, Green went from from averaging 11.3 minutes and shooting 27.7 percent from 3-point range in his first season to becoming one of the Huskies’ most versatile options off the bench.

“I think from (the start of this season) I was over-thinking everything. I was doing too much,” Green said. “But now? I’m just doing what I do best and that’s keeping it simple.”

Dickerson is NCAA Player of Week

In the span of five days, Noah Dickerson has done quite a bit.

The Washington junior forward opened Monday by being named the NCAA Player of the Week. A few hours later, he was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Week. Dickerson’s accolade come after he led the Huskies to upset wins over No. 25 Arizona State on Thursday and No. 7 Arizona in a 78-75 thriller Saturday. Both wins were at the Alaska Airlines Arena.

Dickerson opened the two-game stretch by scoring 21 points while shooting 7-for-15 and grabbed 16 rebounds in a 68-64 win over the Sun Devils.

A few days later, he may have had his strongest performance of the season.

The 6-foot-8 Dickerson shot 10-for-16 from the floor and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to score 25 points and 7 rebounds against the Wildcats.

Dickerson put up his 25-7 going against one of the best front courts in America. Wildcats freshman forward Deandre Ayton, who is projected to go No. 1 in the NBA Draft, was tasked with defending Dickerson throughout the game.